The controversial leader of Ukraine's ultranationalist Right Sector paramilitary group has been named an army adviser.
Ukrainian Armed Forces spokesman Oleksey Mazepa announced on April 6 that Dmytro Yarosh would "act as a link between volunteer battalions and the General Staff."
Yarosh's Right Sector militia claims to have some 10,000 members, but so far has not officially registered with the government as other paramilitary forces have done.
The Right Sector militia is fighting alongside Ukrainian government troops against pro-Russian separatists in the eastern part of the country.
The move is seen as a way for Kyiv to rein in paramilitary groups and bring them under the control of the army or Interior Ministry.
Mazepa said "we want to achieve full unity in the struggle against the enemy... [and] the cooperation and integration of volunteer battalions in the armed forces."
Yarosh is staunchly anti-Russian and has called the neighboring country "Ukraine's eternal foe" and said war with Russia is "inevitable."
The Kremlin has accused Yarosh of calling for terrorist attacks against Russia.